The international break is often ridiculed for being uneventful and almost a chore to get through before club football returns. However, even its biggest critic would have a hard time downplaying the emotion, drama and chaos of the past few days.
From Budapest to Kingston, wherever you look across the globe over the last fortnight, there have been stories written and memories made that will last a lifetime. It has also been a timely reminder of how football in its purest form is a beautiful thing.
For all the technological advances and complex tactics in the modern game, it is sometimes refreshing when all of that goes out the window and passion and emotion take centre stage. That was the story for both Ireland and Scotland over a memorable few days, which also saw Curacao make history.
Parrott becomes instant Ireland legend
Heading into the final round of fixtures in Europe's World Cup qualifying groups, Ireland's World Cup dream was hanging by a thread with an almost impossible task of keeping the dream alive. Whilst two wins from their final two games would be enough to secure a play-off spot, beating Portugal at home followed by Hungary away was a daunting task to say the least.
However, football is incredible in that supporters will cling to any amount of hope (however small it might be) and believe in the improbable when everyone else has written them off. That is what the Ireland fans did in Dublin last Thursday evening, and they were rewarded handsomely.
A Troy Parrott brace inspired Ireland to one of their great wins as a nation, and all of a sudden, a faint glimmer of hope turned into a genuine belief they could go to Hungary and secure a sensational play-off spot. A nation believed again.
The Ireland supporters experienced just about every emotion on Sunday afternoon in Budapest. The one that will last a lifetime, however, will be Parrott's astonishing goal in the final seconds of the game to complete a comeback win in barely believable fashion. In doing so, Parrott became the first Irishman to score a hat-trick in a competitive match since Robbie Keane in 2014.
Incredibly, it was also his fifth goal in two unforgettable games.
Less than a week earlier, Parrott was simply the striker playing in Evan Ferguson's absence. But in an instant, he became a national hero and now holds the dreams of a nation on his shoulders heading into the March playoffs.
The celebrations that followed Parrott's last-minute goal in Budapest and back home in Dublin were everything you would expect them to be. The magic of international football is alive and well.
Scotland qualify for World Cup in dramatic fashion
Scotland knew heading into their final group stage match at Hampden Park on Wednesday that it was do-or-die time. The task ahead was simple: win and they would qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Lose or draw, and the tricky playoffs would await.
Denmark went into the clash with a one-point lead and were the slight favourites to qualify, given their talented squad and the fact that they just needed to draw, while Scotland had to win.
Scott McTominay opened the scoring early on in breathtaking style when he executed a bicycle kick Cristiano Ronaldo would be proud of. Twice Scotland would take the lead before Denmark levelled proceedings, and Patrick Dorgu's 81st-minute equaliser to make it 2-2 felt like a decisive one.
However, this international break had already taught us that in these moments where dreams can turn into reality in an instant, all the normal rules go out of the window. So when Kieran Tierney curled in a dramatic winning goal in the 93rd minute, it fit perfectly into a script that has turned on its head during the last fortnight.
Kenny McLean scoring a fourth in the dying seconds from inside his own half to put the cherry on the cake. Even a ripped-up script couldn't have seen that coming. The atmosphere inside Hampden Park was electric throughout, but the noise after those two added-time goals was something special.
A night of memories that will last a lifetime for players and supporters alike as Scotland return to the World Cup for the first time since 1998.
On the same remarkable night of European qualifying, Austria scored a dramatic late equaliser of their own against group rivals Bosnia & Herzegovina to also reach the World Cup for the first time since 1998. In the early hours of the morning, the storylines continued as a 0-0 draw in Jamaica was good enough for Curacao to make history as the second-smallest country to qualify for the World Cup in the competition's history.
Is International football the purest form of the sport?
Now, of course, there will be uninspiring international breaks in the future; the excitement of the past two weeks can't always be replicated.
However, as long as the World Cup exists, magical moments like those witnessed in Budapest and Glasgow will transpire. Because when logic and tactics are forgotten, football is reduced to its bare bones and with the strength of a united nation, chaos ensues.
International football will never replicate the ever-evolving world of club football, but these World Cup qualifiers have proven it doesn't need to. Supporting your country is different to following a club, and so are the expectations. When you watch your club week in week out (especially Europe's elite clubs), it is fair enough to expect to be entertained.
Results are not everything in club football; style of play and delivering on the club's DNA are sometimes just as important.
However, 90% of the time in international football, all that matters is the results. International managers lack sufficient time with their players to implement advanced tactical structures. Leaving individual moments of quality, playing off the atmosphere and showing great mental strength to reign supreme.
What that creates is football in its purest form, a world away from billionaire owners, self-serving agents and £300k-a-week contracts.
It is comforting to know that, however alienating club football can feel, the World Cup will always remain a uniting force. One where dreams can become reality and greed is left at the door of club training grounds.